Limited Eternity
by InspirationSkarm
Summary: [Takes place after the events of the anime] With the most powerful weapon in her hands, the Death Eraser, Danae is the next one to mess with the dead. In an attempt to prevent the rebirth of Kira, she finds herself as a mighty puppeteer who controls the lives and deaths of 6 men. Criminals, Detectives and Shinigami come and go according to her will. [M for language, sex, blood]
1. Prologue

**Limited Eternity – Prologue**

Her fingertips blazed as they made contact with the dusty notebook, carefully turning its old, tatty pages that were slightly torn at the edges. She winced at the sight of the countless names written on its rough surface, even though most of them had gradually grew faint and faded over the years. However, the one she was looking for was still intact, each letter written with perfect clarity in a prideful black ink.

Once her amber irises located the name, she subconsciously gave a squeeze at the rectangular eraser in her right palm.

Ryuk M yz k

Only his last name was blurry, making her unable to read it. However, it didn't really affect her intentions.

"Are you sure you wanna do this?" she asked for a last time, still a bit cautious about the responsibility she would have to bear if anything were to go wrong.

"Yes, Danae," the Shinigami replied, without hesitation.

The clicking sound of his hanging earring would still cause chills to thrive on her body with each movement he made. Danae gazed up at him, inspecting the thrilled look he gave her with those large, yellow eyes of his.

Upon seeing how impatient he was, she made a move to delete the name, the eraser barely touching the first letter when her fingers hesitated again, giving him a last inquiring look.

"And… you're sure that erasing the name does not mean I am actually using the Death Note?"

"You have my word," he reassured in a low and stern tone.

"Alright then…" she sighed heavily, feeling the night breeze soothingly grazing her skin, and with a decisive move she erased the name, each neat and blurry letter. Immediately raising her head to look at the Shinigami, she waited patiently for something to happen.

Ryuk was floating just a little bit above the ground, the edges of his feather-like wings touching several branches of the surrounding trees. Silence was taking over the atmosphere, only the cries of certain nocturnal birds filling the air, as they both anticipated the upcoming change.

Memories of her first encounter with the dreadful Shinigami flashed before her eyes and her absolutely horrified screams that accompanied it echoed once again in her ears. Back then, she thought her heart would stop beating from the terror that had deluged her being. But she was still there; curled up in the corner of her bedroom, body trembling from intense fear, voice caught up in her throat. The strange creature had its ridiculously large, blue lips stretched in a grisly, wide grin as if laughing at her mortal passions.

"I need your help," he had said.

Even though she was unable to grasp the reality behind the situation, the flying demon approached her, only to draw another frightened shriek out of her dried lips. He stopped his movements, deciding it wouldn't get him anywhere by scaring her even more. Of course, that was not his objective in the first place. So he threw a tiny object on the floor, right in front of her crouched form.

She eyed it cautiously, clearly unwilling to even touch it.

"It's yours."

Bewilderment replaced the fear on her characteristics. She reluctantly stretched her hand to get the white piece. Inspecting it closely, she recognized it as a regular eraser, except that the letters "D" and "E" were carved with black ink on its surface in a calligraphic manner, while a peculiar black cross decorated its other side.

"Please, help me."

Oh who would have known that touching those strange papers that had almost magically appeared on her desk that evening would bring her in such a situation? Never in her entire life had she imagined that a god of Death would ask for her help. How in the world could she ever help someone like him?

All those questions had now been answered and the Shinigami's presence had become a habit. Now she knew. She knew how that mass killing phenomenon had been caused 13 years ago in Japan, when she was still just a little kid. It had caused such a ruckus that the news reached every citizen of the US, where she lived. She knew what the infamous Kira's power was and she found it cowardly to say the least.

Ryuk had informed her characteristically that "the human who uses the Death Note can neither go to Heaven nor Hell" but he also reassured her too many times that erasing his name wouldn't affect herself or her alleged afterlife at all.

Therefore, she agreed to help the Shinigami and fulfill his request; bringing him back to life. Yes, the tool she now owned, the Death Eraser, was meant to delete names from any Death Note and bring the victims back to life. Of course, she had a reason for taking such a risk as helping a god of Death; her quest was to prevent the revival of Kira. According to what Ryuk had told her, Kira had found out about the Death Eraser and was craving to claim it and regain his place in this world. But the eraser would only work if a human used it, and Kira had become a Shinigami himself.

As far as she knows, only one Death Eraser exists and she happens to own it. Questions like why did Ryuk choose her to hold the eraser or why didn't he use it earlier in his Shinigami life had yet to be answered. But she figured those things didn't matter as much right now. As long as she has the Death Eraser, she bears the responsibility to prevent Kira from obtaining it and using it to come back to human life. In order to get the eraser now, Kira would have to wait for her death, except if she conveys the ownership to someone else. But such an ignominious act was not in her plans.

A cracking sound snapped her out of her thoughts. It was finally happening.

"Uh-oh," said the Shinigami as he realized his structure gaining unexpected weight.

Indigo smoke began emitting from Ryuk's body and collapsing sounds filled the air as his bones started to crumble. Danae stood up in awe and agony and took a few steps back as his form was now breaking into bits and pieces, though the smoke made her unable to watch the complete procedure. The myriads small pieces of his bones melted on the ground and became sand and dirt.

The pile of dirt began swelling in several places as strange bubbles of mud were forming on its surface, like the sand was boiling from underneath. Strangely, the mud began evaporating and her vision was blocked by the steam. Speechless as she stood, with her eyes wide open, she silently prayed that nobody would witness this craziness, this supernatural rebirth of a Death god. Of course, she had chosen a dark and isolated forest to carry out her plans, but you never quite knew what could go wrong.

By the time the steam was gone she found herself staring at a man who was looking back at her in complete confusion, like a fish out of the water. They both stood aghast for a few seconds unable to decide on a proper reaction.

She meticulously scrutinized Ryuk's new form, still trying to comprehend the reality behind the absurdity. The man born from sand was tall and slim, though he had broad shoulders and a powerful presence despite his thin frame. That extremely stretched, creepy mouth was now replaced by a pair of -still noticeable- lips in the color of healthy pink, which made contrast with his creamy beige skin. Heavy-lidded eyes were making her unable to distinguish the color of his irises, even though it seemed like a hazy brown, she would have to inspect it closely later. Sand was still pouring from his short, kinda spiky black hair, flowing on his body till it reached the ground. Under the faint light of their small lantern the distinctive shade of dark blue was still evident on his hair which reassured her that the man in front of her was indeed the Shinigami that brought her life upside down.

And another thing she noticed about him was that…

He was _completely naked._

"P-put some clothes on!"

She threw him her dark brown knee-length coat while turning around to cover her eyes, after leaving the old Death Note and the eraser next to the lantern, on the top of her car, which she had messily parked nearby.

The man barely caught the piece of clothing. He lifted it in front of him and gave it the once over, a bit skeptical.

"It doesn't fit me," he said while trying to pull the left sleeve up his arm.

She would have responded right away with a new solution if she hadn't been shocked by his human voice. It was nothing magical, but compared to the depraved and cunning one he had as a Shinigami, one would at least characterize it as "manly".

"Just wrap it around you or something!" she suggested, hands and hair still covering her face. A few seconds later, the shuffle of the clothing stopped. "Did you put it on?"

"Uhh… yes."

She hesitantly uncovered her eyes and turned to face the Shini- … the man.

He had tried to wrap the coat around his waist by tying the sleeves together, which resulted to the rest of the coat reaching the dirty ground. At least, his private parts were no longer visible.

"It's okay… let's just leave this place," she encouraged and opened the car's door, signaling him to enter the vehicle. Ryuk approached her with a peculiar pace as if trying to get used to walking again, his toes sinking in the dirty grass of the small forest. Once he reached the car he made a move to get in but stopped halfway. He straightened his back again and looked her in the eyes with a cautious expression on his features.

"What's wrong?" she asked, impatiently tapping her fingers on the car door, which she kept holding open.

"Someone's watching us."

She felt a wave of dread reaching her as she hastily looked around. Nothing seemed out of place and no one was in sight.

"How do you know that?" she whispered to him.

"I saw them."

Maybe he thought he was still having Shinigami abilities or maybe he was hallucinating, though the young woman didn't want to just brush off his warning. It wouldn't be surprising if someone was indeed following them. Danae was partly prepared for this kind of mysterious lifestyle since she decided to keep the Death Eraser.

"Whatever we should just… leave."

With that last statement the man got in the car and she closed the door after him, like he was a little child who needed help with anything and everything. After sitting on the driver's seat and activating the car, she carefully drove out of the forest, insisting on checking the mirrors for someone that might have been watching them.

"Danae?"

"Yes, Ryuk?"

"Are we going to have dinner?"

"Haha, yes we are…"

His silly question unchained her from the tension that had taken over. She laughed slightly, as she felt clearly calmer than before while the car reached civilization once again, city lights pouring over them.

Now wait till she notices that she had revived _a sinner, a demon of the past._


	2. Chapter 1

**Limited Eternity – Chapter 1**

It's been a month since Danae started living with the newborn Ryuk. The former Shinigami has been rather challenging as a roommate. He faced difficulties with everyday tasks; he had no idea how to cook, clean, wash the clothes she had so kindly bought for him, or how to use any electric appliances in general. She still remembers the first time he tried to turn on the TV.

"I have watched Light do this many times," he had said.

She had found him inspecting the black box thoughtfully, searching for something that would trigger his memory. After a few failed tries she gave him the remote and explained every single thing, only to end up watching cartoons with him. He stared into the screen like a little kid, watching colorful aliens full of enthusiasm.

Or that time, when they went shopping together for the first time and took the bus to get to the town's center. She was perfectly clear when she told him to go get them two bus tickets as she waited at the station. Having forgotten about his 21st century ignorance, she almost had a heart attack when she found him raging in front of the tickets machine, ready to write its company's name on a piece of paper from his Death Note.

His funny behavior had been explained. The first time she saw him endeavoring to make the toaster work, she had asked him in what century he used to live before he became a Shinigami. She was joking obviously, just teasing him for his clumsiness.

"In the 15th century," was his answer.

She thought he was kidding, until she noticed the seriousness that his brown gaze emitted. Of course, during that century technology was nowhere near present's wonders. People used to bath in wooden bathtubs which they filled up with boiled hot water and they would entertain themselves with occupations such as archery, hunting, literature, theatre and art.

She waited at least a month to get her remaining questions answered. She needed to know more about the two Death Notes he was always carrying with him, the Death Eraser, Light Yagami – Ryuk was referring to him very often– and everything else that pinched her curiosity. And apart from Ryuk's difficulty of getting used to technological progress, the time he used to live in explained other things as well. And first of all; the old Death Note on which his name was written on.

"That Death Note is not mine," he explained, chewing on another red apple. "It belongs to the Shinigami King, that old fart who wrote my name on his Death Note 6 centuries ago."

Ryuk had told her many stories about the Shinigami Realm, where every god of Death rots in boredom, and its ruler; the King of Shinigami. That "old fart" was the one that supplied every Shinigami with Death Notes, but kept his own as well.

"He is very old, possibly centuries older than me, that's why his Death Note is now a piece of rotten paper." He stayed silent for a few seconds, inspecting the fruit in his palm with a skeptical expression on his features. "Hehe, I tricked him again."

Ryuk had told her about the first time he tricked the King; when he stole and threw the Death Note of another Shinigami in the human world and descended to follow Light Yagami, or Kira, at his path of becoming the "god of the new world". Apparently, the raven haired man in front of her was very mischievous and she should have her alarms activated at all costs around him.

"The Death Eraser is his as well," he added.

"So you stole the eraser and this Death Note from the King, because it was the only way to come back to life, right?" she asked, showing him the King's Death Note which had lost its black color long ago. It was now dark brown with fainted, grey letters on its rough cover.

"Yes." Pride was evident in his expression.

"And you wanted so much to become human again because…?"

"I was bored."

That was his answer to almost everything. Boredom was his excuse for getting constantly involved with the human world.

"Hm. But apart from that, you said you wanted to prevent the rebirth of Kira. You said he has found out about the Death Eraser and the only way to keep it away from him was to give it to a human, because you were confident he would steal it from the King as well… am I correct?"

"Yes, and I know that if Light comes back to life, he will send me back to the Realm… and I want to stay here, as a human."

Danae was well aware of the emotion in his eyes. The nostalgic tone in his voice was nothing but a pleading. He was practically begging her to help him prevent Kira from getting the eraser.

"Alright then, the only thing we have to do is ruin Kira's plans," she announced with confidence in an attempt to make him feel more comfortable. "What do you think he will try to do now, Ryuk?"

"Ah… the only way to get the eraser is to wait for your death, Danae."

She gulped. He was talking so casually about it.

"But he can't kill you himself. If a Shinigami kills for any other reason apart from expanding their lifespan, they will die."

That information was new.

"Wow… can't they just pretend they're killing to expand their lifespan?"

"No, if that was possible, poor Gelus would be alive now."

"Who's Gelus?"

"A Shinigami that fell in love with a girl and killed someone who was about to murder her in order to save her. The Death Note can feel our motives, Danae."

Several thoughts were pounding at the walls of her mind as she was trying to comprehend all those supernatural rules and facts.

"Hmm… so if Kira can't kill me by himself, he has to find someone else to do it. A human, perhaps?"

"Right. Good luck with discovering who Light is going to pick."

"So you believe that Kira – Light, will give a Death Note to someone and wait till that someone decides to write my name on it?"

Ryuk was silent for a moment. He took the last bite of his apple and ruffled his spiky hair. The words were about to leave his mouth when a loud noise was heard from the balcony. They looked at each other and quickly ran outside. The metallic ladder Danae was keeping next to the flower pots has fallen on the floor.

"It might have been a cat. They usually ascend by climbing the trees," she brushed off the incident, although Ryuk looked a little bit more worried.

"I don't think Light will wait, Danae."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm sure he is going to pick someone who will be at least as ambitious as he was, someone who will take advantage of the Death Note immediately. And if Light tells that someone about a girl that owns the Death Eraser, that someone will definitely hunt you down."

A deep sigh escaped her lips as she returned in the living room, heading to the computer where she has been editing her work. She is a journalist, spending hours every day in writing and posting articles or taking interviews from people that her company would assign to her. It's not as simple as it sounds. A job like that could turn to be dangerous or really tiring, especially when people would not cooperate.

She sat on the wheel chair and opened a new tab on the browser.

"Hey Ryuk, could you tell me a bit more about Light-kun?"

"What do you want to know?"

"Something useful that will help me find public information about him on the Internet."

Obviously, the police had concealed the identity of Kira, as well as his way of killing. The public had no idea about any Death Notes or Shinigami.

Ryuk took a chair from the dining table and sat next to the young woman.

"Hmm… he was a student at the To-Oh University and afterwards a member of the Japanese Task Force."

She searched through the Internet for hours, while Ryuk was giving her more and more clues. She ended up with a significant amount of information about the young genius.

Light Yagami appeared to be a very intelligent young man, claiming the highest scores since High School, getting accepted in the National Police Agency since he was just 23 years old and solving countless criminal cases. According to the data she collected, he was much respected as a personality and many people addressed to him when they needed help.

"There's something that Internet conceals from you, Danae."

"What? That he was Kira? I know that already."

"No, that he was a womanizer."

"Oh don't tell me!" She joked, rolling her eyes. Of course, the guy had the profile of the perfect criminal.

She gave another look at the photos she had printed. She had found pictures both from his student years and his alleged career. No wonder girls would fall for him. No matter how she tried to convince herself otherwise, Light Yagami was incredibly handsome, with his light brown hair framing his face in such a perfect way that highlighted his cheekbones, the formal style of his that seemed to be present since his school years and those big, chestnut eyes full of confidence.

Ryuk must have noticed her staring at the photo in her hand.

"Well… he doesn't really look like that now."

"Haha, yeah I bet he is just a scarecrow of bones, like you were, right?"

"He is even worse. He has no lips and his eyes are two little red, shining dots."

"My… at least I'm not in danger of falling for him~"

The former Shinigami laughed a little before rubbing his eyes with his fists. Danae realized he was sleepy so she opted for the last question of the day.

"Ryuk, do you have any idea of how we're supposed to find the guy that Light will now choose to give the Death Note to?"

He hummed in thought.

"It would be hard to do that on our own. But… there must be someone… who will definitely get very close to their identity, if the killings start again."

"And who's that?" she asked, even though having another ally did not really suit her plans.

"Hmm… something like Rear, Bear, Dear, Near..." he blabbed, making her laugh at his attempts of recalling the man's name. "Must be working for the FBI now, white hair, dark circles, looks like a depressed version of Casper the ghost... dunno, you can search for him if you like, I'm going to sleep."

"Haha, alright then," she wished him goodnight and planted a kiss on his cheek, making him blush visibly.

"I have told you so many times, it won't be good if I fall for you, Danae," he reminded her, touching the spot where she kissed him. She smiled at his bashfulness as he disappeared in his bedroom.

Even though it's only been a month, she had developed a rather intimate relationship with the newborn man, leaving behind the fears that had agitated her when she first met him as a god of death. However, she had easily found out that he was rather shy around women, and she loved teasing him.

It was 2 A.M. and she decided against searching for that man Ryuk told her about. She had to go to work early in the next morning anyway.

She gave a last glance at Light's best photo, among those she had printed. It showed him shaking the hand of a journalist who was probably there to interview him about a case he had solved. She shivered at the thought that in other circumstances, she might have been the one shaking Kira's hand.

Light's death was labeled as a car accident, which she found a pretty pathetic and banal lie.

Looking at the photo in her palm, she could only tell the thriller of her life was just beginning.

Why on Earth did Ryuk choose her, among all people to do this job


End file.
